OCDE NEWSROOM
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Food pantry started by OCDE’s ACCESS program celebrates one year of serving students, families |
During the pandemic, schools administered by OCDE’s Alternative Education division — also known as ACCESS — began hosting drive-through food and supply distribution centers to support their communities. But the demand in South Orange County turned out to be even greater than expected, underscoring the extent of food insecurity and the pressing need for a more permanent approach. That prompted ACCESS staff to reach out to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, an organization dedicated to providing residents with consistent access to healthy food. |
https://newsroom.ocde.us/capistrano-cellars-school-pantry-celebrates-one-year-of-serving-ocde-students-and-families/ |
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Weekly roundup: Garden Grove hosts 52nd Special Games for students, OCDE celebrates Classified School Employee Week, and more |
With National Physical Fitness and Sports Month coming to a close, more than 800 Garden Grove Unified students with special needs celebrated by competing in relays, volleyball matches, softball tosses and more at the district’s 52nd Special Games on May 19. The annual Olympic-style event was organized by the district’s department of adapted physical education and aims to celebrate the abilities of all students. About 550 student leaders from the district’s eight high school campuses welcomed each competitor to the stadium at Bolsa Grande High School with cheers of encouragement and high-fives. |
https://newsroom.ocde.us/weekly-roundup-garden-grove-hosts-52nd-special-games-for-students-ocde-celebrates-classified-school-employee-week-and-more/ |
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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DAILY PILOT |
Ocean View School District sets deadline for task force proposals in face of declining enrollment |
What comes next for the Ocean View School District? Though district Board of Trustees President Patricia Singer announced in February that she wouldn’t agendize the closing of any campuses next school year, school and parent representatives continue worrying about the district’s declining enrollment. OVSD Supt. Michael Conroy has created a 40-plus member superintendent’s task force to examine that issue. It consists of school site, community and union representatives, as well as principals from six different OVSD schools. |
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2023-05-26/ocean-view-school-district-continues-mulling-its-declining-enrollment |
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EDSOURCE
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Therapy dogs changed the culture of mental health in this Central Valley district |
If students at Selma High School in Fresno County ever had to vote on their favorite things on campus, Jeter and Scout – two cockapoos – serving as Selma Unified’s therapy dogs, would be the top picks.Since 2016, 12-year-old Jeter and 4-year-old Scout (since 2021) have played a lead role in the district’s push to destigmatize mental health issues and provide services. They are on campus every day; during lunch, they go from table to table, interacting with students, but they seem to know where they’re needed most: the students who are sitting alone or who seem sad. |
https://edsource.org/2023/therapy-dogs-changed-the-culture-of-mental-health-in-this-central-valley-district/691519 |
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DAILY BREEZE
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What would happen if Redondo Beach removes school board from its charter? |
Redondo Beach might ask voters whether to take its school district’s Board of Education out of the city charter. The city’s Charter Review Advisory Committee recently discussed the potential change, which Redondo voters could possibly decide on as soon as the November 2024 statewide general election. The committee is expected to receive feedback from the Redondo Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education on what it wants, as well as input from legal counsel on the full scope of what would happen if voters ultimately approved the charter amendment. |
https://www.dailybreeze.com/2023/05/26/what-would-happen-if-redondo-beach-removes-school-board-from-its-charter/ |
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KPCC
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30,000 Orange County Children Experience Homelessness, Watchdog Estimates |
An Orange County grand jury report estimates there are 30,000 students experiencing homelessness in the county. That's a massive number compared with the 722 children identified in the "Point-in-Time" count last year. The discrepancy is largely due to competing federal definitions of "homeless," but the grand jury wants the county to accept its much larger estimate over the point-in-time definition, which is set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). |
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/30-000-orange-county-children-experience-homelessness-watchdog-estimates |
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OTHER NEWS OUTLETS
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Teen completes 100+ hours of community service in 1 school year |
A teenager at McAuliffe Middle School in Los Alamitos set a goal to do 100 hours of community service before the end of the school year. Alyssa Wiitanen has surpassed that goal and continues to volunteer by weeding at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, crocheting scarves, making greeting cards and much more. The student said her new goal is to help her classmates find ways to volunteer and help increase the total volunteer hours at her school. |
https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/human-interest/2023/05/24/100--hours-of-community-service-in-1-school-year |
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A new program is training teens to become 'eco ambassadors' |
The Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation launched a new education program for teens who love the outdoors and may seek careers in nature-related fields. Seventeen-year-old Taylor Folkers has her sights set on going to college in the fall; but while on a guided walk, all she has to worry about is watching for unique birds around Mission Trails Regional Park. “Definitely [hoping to see] the Peregrine Falcon,” Folkers said. “I’m kind of hoping to see something that I’ve never seen before.” |
https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/education/2023/05/26/new-program-training-teens-to-become--eco-ambassadors- |
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Angels Baseball Foundation Adopts Acacia School |
The Angels Baseball Foundation, in partnership with OC Waste & Recycling, announced its adoption of Acacia School for the 2022-23 school year. The partnership between the Angels Baseball Foundation and Acacia School aims to support the school’s educational programs and enhance the learning experience of its students. Acacia School was identified as one of five schools in Orange County chosen for this special designation. As part of the adoption program, the Angels Baseball Foundation will provide financial support for various programs, including science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, initiatives focused on leadership, integrity, diversity, and green initiatives supporting waste diversion education. |
https://fullertonobserver.com/2023/05/29/angels-baseball-foundation-adopts-acacia-school/ |
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RH Dana Exceptional Needs Facility Hosts Reunion Event |
More than a hundred members of the RH Dana Elementary School’s Exceptional Needs Facility community, including former staff members, paraeducators, students, alumni and their families, gathered on Thursday, May 25, to remember the school’s 48-year history. As the 2022-23 school year ends, so will the RH Dana ENF campus as it plans to merge with the rest of RH Dana Elementary in the upcoming school year. |
https://www.danapointtimes.com/rh-dana-exceptional-needs-facility-hosts-reunion-event/ |
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Santa Ana student film inspired by young migrant children's separation from parents and life in US |
A film event at the Frida Cinema this week showcased the work of Heninger Elementary and Santa Ana High School students and for some, the plotline was all too familiar, shedding a spotlight on family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border and the journeys of unaccompanied minors looking for better lives in the U.S. It's a story of immigration, family separation and friendship. |
https://abc7.com/santa-ana-high-school-heninger-elementary-frida-cinema-apart-student-film/13305562/ |
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COVID’s ‘complicated picture’: Mental health worse, staffing tight, enrollment frozen at nation’s schools |
More than two-thirds of public schools saw higher percentages of their students seeking mental health services in 2022 than before the pandemic — but only a slim majority believed they were able to meet children’s heightened psychological needs, according to a federal report released Wednesday. The revelation comes from The Condition of Education 2023, the latest in a series of annual digests from the National Center for Education Statistics surveying the landscape of K–12 schools. Its contents offer a nuanced account of how COVID-19 affected student experiences both inside and outside the classroom. |
https://www.laschoolreport.com/covids-complicated-picture-mental-health-worse-staffing-tight-enrollment-frozen-at-nations-schools/ |
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